


Misunderstood Magic

by fauxman



Series: Askr Supports [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi | Fire Emblem: Binding Blade
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 03:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18885889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxman/pseuds/fauxman
Summary: Set of supports (C-A) imagined for Fire Emblem Heroes. Kliff and Raigh learn to understand each other.





	1. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Background exposition.

Kliff walks down the aisles of the Askran library. A studious mage, Kliff often finds himself studying the various tomes that are unavailable elsewhere. Many other mages who have arrived to Askr also spend their time in the library, but Kliff always manages to isolate himself from the others. When he does find company, he finds it with mages both outside of his age group and mages who originate from outside of Valentia - mostly due to his already developed proficiencies with magic. He oftentimes looks up to and seeks their wisdom, because some things are learned better through experience over time than from reading a book. Even then, he outperforms some of his older peers as well.

Despite what his personality may suggest, Kliff is thankful of the large collection of tomes in Askr. Always dreaming of exploring the world, the Askran library more or less brings the rest of the world to him. People from all across the realms bring their knowledge to Askr, allowing Kliff to virtually explore places from outside his home. Askr itself provides much more for Kliff to learn; he oftentimes uses battles as an excuse to explore. Even so, he finds that he prefers the library, and, when he feels up to it, practicing his newly learned spells alongside his fellow mages. Tonight, however, he sought a different kind of knowledge.

…

Raigh slumps his back, knees raised, against a bookshelf, reading a tome that anyone would immediately assume he both could not and should not be reading. A self-taught apprentice of the dark arts, Raigh often finds himself studying any obscure dark tome he can get his hands on, through any means he finds necessary. No matter how difficult or antiquated the language may be, Raigh pushes himself to fully analyze each text he reads. Similar to his fellow dark mages, he spends his time studying knowledge that many others assume is evil or forbidden. To him, however, it means nothing more than a means of protection and survival.  _ Elder Magic _ , many scholars call it, to remove the negative connotation from the name, to represent a deeper understanding of the universe and its history.

Despite an assumed solidary, Raigh rejects the idea of getting along with his fellow scholars. His comrades view him as a scornful, troubled child walking around with a chip on his shoulder. Even other dark mages find him rude and disrespectful. He causes much concern for Lugh and Chad. When others surround him, his abrasive personality makes sure he still finds solitude rather quickly. He arrived to Askr alone, in an attempt to search for more power, and he wishes to find said power alone. Much as he initially taught himself to use dark magic, any new spells he finds he learns without any help, regardless of the associated difficulty, effort, and stress. He finds the battlefield to be the perfect place to practice his wickedness, and any ruins become an excuse for him to sit a battle out in favor of exploration. Ironically, he wonders why others fail to see his capabilities. Tonight, however, perhaps someone would notice.


	2. C Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they encounter in the library.

_ ‘Hmm… perhaps a tome of conjuration, or summoning… everything I’ve been reading has become too simple.’ _ Kliff thought, eyeing the books as he walks down each aisle.  _ ‘Casting is no fun if there isn’t a challenge.’ _ Despite the time, and the only light coming from dimmed torches, Kliff has no trouble identifying each one.

Raigh mumbles to himself, scrunching the book in his lap closer to his face, making connections to other texts in his head. Being his usual getaway spot at all hours, he knows now is not the time to expect others.

Kliff continues to walk down the aisle.  _ ‘No, not my area of study. No, too difficult. No, I don’t want anything to do with necromancy.’ _

Raigh shifts positions, sitting back up and crossing his legs, and setting the book on the ground to better see the diagram spanning the pages.

Kliff spots a tome that catches his eyes.  _ ‘Oh? What is this?’ _ He reaches out and pulls the book out from its spot in the shelf.  _ ‘Lemegeton. Huh, I’ll check it out.’ _ He opens the book, but continues to walk forward as he explores the pages.

Raigh shifts positions again, this time slouching his back against the bookshelf again, extending his legs out and holding the book to his face. Neither is aware of the other’s presence.

_ ‘Terrors? That sounds too much like necromancy… why was it in a separate section? … Oh, they aren’t actually terrors, just ill-’ _ Kliff gasped as he trips over Raigh’s body.

“Ow- Hey!”

Kliff had no time to react, already falling to the ground. He holds the book in one hand still, to protect it from damage, at the cost of having a harder fall. He lands harshly, barely bracing himself with his free arm. “Ouch…”

“What kind of fool walks and reads at the same time?” Raigh asks bluntly, with no concern for the other.

Kliff gathers himself off the ground, sitting back up, but not standing. “What kind of person sits across the middle of an aisle, knowing people walk through them?” Kliff manages.

“No one else was here! And besides, I didn’t see you coming!”

Kliff begins rubbing the arm on which he landed, already feeling sore from the fall. “Look, we were both lost in our books. Perhaps we should both learn about watching our surroundings.”

“Fine. At least neither of our books are ruined… and neither of us are seriously hurt. Speaking of which, why are you studying a conjuration tome if you’re  _ just  _ a mage?”

Kliff lets out a deep sigh.  _ ‘This kid is serious, isn’t he?’ _ “I might be ‘just a mage,’ but I’ve run out of spells that don’t bore me, so I came looking for something more. I could ask the same of you; can you even read what you’re holding?”

Raigh gives a confounded expression in response. “Of course I can read it; I’m not clueless! What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”

Kliff lets out another sigh. “I never said you were clueless. It’s just that many people give up their mind and body to even consider using dark magic.”

“Yeah? Well, I  _ earned  _ this power, on my own at that. You’re not the only gifted mage here, and you never were.”

Kliff gives the other boy a long stare before standing back up.  _ ‘What is his problem? Why does he carry such a harsh tone?’ _ “You know, not everything people say is meant to be insulting.” Kliff walks over to Raigh and extends his hand out, to which Raigh gives another confounded look.

“What, are you not afraid of me?”

“Why would I be? Your thoughts and actions are  _ clearly _ your own, and I can tell that you would never use your power maliciously. You just  _ act _ scary.”

Raigh swipes Kliff’s hand away and looks off to the side. “Please, now you just sound like -”

“Anyone who has ever taken the time to speak to you?”

Raigh looks back at Kliff, whose hand is still extended, but says no words for a few seconds. “Fine.” Raigh takes Kliff’s hand and pulls himself up, book in the other hand. Once he’s on his feet, he realizes how small he is compared to Kliff. “But why are you showing me kindness?”

“You seem like you could use it. Besides, I feel like we should stick together.” Kliff began leading the two of them out of the library and towards the living quarters.

“What makes you think that?”

“We’re both young and powerful mages that have been outcasted from others. Everyone thinks we have bad attitudes when in truth no one else shares our interests and our irritability makes us prefer working alone. We both still need to grow up, but other people won’t let us, at least not in the way in which we need. It’d be good for both of us if we grow up supporting each other instead of feeling alone.”

“I told you, I neither want nor need to rely on anyone.”

“It’s not reliance, it’s solidarity. If we at least stick together, maybe we’ll turn out better than if we didn’t.”

“...That makes absolutely no sense.”

With that, they arrive at the living quarters. They part ways to retire to their rooms for the night, perhaps to finish their studies before heading to bed.


	3. B Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kliff tries to get Raigh to talk.

Raigh once again finds himself in the Askran library. Finished studying the previous tome, he finds himself reading another ancient text. Kliff, not having seen Raigh since the last time they spoke, instinctively looks for him in the library. Whilst returning the  _ Lemegeton _ tome, he spots Raigh sitting against a shelf again. He walks up to him, and sits right beside him.

“Raigh?” No response.  _ Lost in his books, again. _ But then, Raigh closes his book, but still holds onto it.

“What do you want?” Raigh asks, harshly.

“We haven’t seen each other since the last time we were here.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Do you still reject what I told you?”

“... We had no actual reason to see each other. We never did, and we still don’t.”

“Let me ask you something.”

“No. Quit bothering me.”

“What do you want to do with your power?”

Raigh realizes that Kliff had inadvertently struck a nerve. “Why do you care to know?”

“Talking about it will help you put things into perspective.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Kliff realizes that every attempt he makes will get shot down, no matter what.  _ ‘Maybe if I share something about myself, he will do the same.’ _ “I’ve always wanted to leave my hometown. Everything there bored me, and once the war started, the school shut down, leaving me with nothing to do. The people living there always bugged me and treated me like a troubled child. That’s why I want to travel the world on my own, for both the experience and for collecting knowledge. What I do with this knowledge, I don’t know yet. Perhaps for now, it’s only a means of reaching fulfillment with my life. Do you see, now, that talking about these things aloud helps us understand  _ why _ we make our goals?”

With a long and reluctant pause, Raigh sits his book down on the side opposite Kliff, and begins to speak. “I’ve always wanted to leave the orphanage where I was raised. My parents left Lugh and me there because they thought we’d be safe. I never saw them again. Then, once the war started, the orphanage burned down, and that’s when I stopped seeing the two men that I considered my fathers.” Raigh took in a deep breath before continuing. “When it came to the rest of the children in the orphanage, I couldn’t let them die either. I had to protect them, especially Lugh. He was the last family I still had alive.”

“You want the power to protect those close to you?”

“...” Raigh refuses to answer.

“Do you think travelling the world will give you that power?”

“Nothing I could do was enough, it never was. No matter what, everyone I cared about either disappeared or died; I couldn’t protect them. That’s why I needed more power, to stop that from happening. Nothing in Araphen could help me, and the start of the war meant I couldn’t wait around, so I left the orphanage in search of more power, the power of the dragons. I learned dark magic along the way, snuck my way into bandit parties to get to the Western Isles, and somehow I wound up here.”

“...It seems like you’ve put a lot on your shoulders. But wait, Lugh didn’t arrive with you, did he? What happened to him?”

“No. He didn’t come with me. I left in the middle of the night so that he and Chad wouldn’t follow me.”

“What made you decide to do that?”

“They would have needlessly worried about me if they knew.”

“And they wouldn’t have worried when they found out you were gone?”

“I left them a note telling them what I was doing! They knew nothing bad had happened to me! And besides, he only worries about me out of obligation because I’m his brother. If I weren’t, he wouldn’t care for me at all.”

“Raigh, that’s not the point! What if something  _ had _ happened to you on your travels? Then they probably never would have heard from you again, maybe even never knowing what happened to you at all! Do you really wish that upon them? Did you not consider their feelings at all? And do you seriously believe he doesn’t genuinely care for you, or do you just say that to absolve yourself of guilt?”

Realizing what Kliff had just said to him, Raigh immediately disregards the fact that he’s in a library, raising his voice. “You’re such a fool to speak like that, Kliff! You weren’t helplessly aware that  _ four _ of your parents died while you couldn’t do anything about it,  _ four! _ Not two, four! You don’t have a brother of your own that you have to worry about protecting! You’ve never experienced having everyone you care about taken away from you! All you care about is leaving everyone behind just because you got picked on! I did what I must so that I can protect the only family I have left. Bramimond damn you, you say that I’m inconsiderate, why don’t you consider how I feel? You’ll never understand my actions; don’t ever speak to me like you do. By Elimine, you’re so  _ stupid, _ Kliff! Was this  _ really _ what you wanted from me?” With that, he storms out of the library, almost leaving his latest book on the ground.


	4. A Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resolution.

The next time Kliff searches for Raigh, it isn’t in the library. Rather, it is in the living space that Raigh and Lugh share.  _ ‘Perhaps if I find Lugh, then I’ll find Raigh.’ _ He walks up to their room, noticing the open door.

“Oh, hey Kliff! What brings you here?” Lugh says as he sees Kliff pass by.

“Is Raigh here? I need to speak with him.”

“Raigh? Yeah, he’s here. But, he’s been upset lately, more so than usual. I don’t know if he’ll be willing to talk right now.” Lugh goes back to minding his own business, while Kliff enters the smaller area where Raigh is. Raigh sits at a desk, still studying the book from before.

“Raigh?” Kliff asks as usual.

“...” No response.

“Are you willing to speak to me?”

“No. Leave me alone.”

“Will you at least let me apologize like a normal person would?”

“...”

“You were right. What I said in the library to you was inconsiderate, and I’m sorry. If I could do it over, I wouldn’t have asked questions filled with accusations. And I’m sorry for getting you to talk about yourself only to anger you in the end.”

“Anything else?”

“You said some extreme stuff to me as well, things that I found hurtful.”

“Okay.”

Neither speaks, and then Kliff lets out a deep sigh. “Raigh, I want you to know something. Out of everything you said to me, you saying that I would never understand you spoke to me the most. Maybe you believed it in the moment, but after listening to you, I realized a lot about you.”

“...” Raigh finally looks up from his book.

“You seek the power to protect those close to you because you’re afraid of losing them. Because of this fear, you put an unnecessary amount of blame and responsibility upon yourself. When people look at you like you’re evil without knowing this, you become agitated; such has majorly influenced your personality.”

“...” Raigh wants to deny Kliff’s words, but deep inside he knows that Kliff read him easier than any book.

“Whenever people think that others won’t understand them, it’s an unfair judgment on their part. The first time we met in the library, I knew that you and I  _ can _ understand each other, and that’s what I’ve been trying to get  _ you _ to understand.”

“...”

Instead of speaking more words, Kliff begins to walk back out of the room.

“Kliff, wait.”

“Yes?”

“I’m… sorry for my outburst in the library. Maybe you were right, maybe what I did was selfish, and maybe I have too much pride in myself, but I still think it’s what I had to do. While on my travels, I kept Lugh and Chad in my thoughts every night. Whenever I felt close to death… I always looked up to the moon, hoping they were looking at it too, so we could picture our reflections on its surface and see each other one last time. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Kliff nods his head and smiles. “I’m glad to see that you can reflect on yourself.”

“Well… protecting people isn’t the only reason I must master the dark arts.”

“Oh?” Raigh’s suggestion intrigues Kliff.

“You mentioned that the people from Valentia offer up their bodies to learn dark magic, and in Elibe, people invite the darkness inside of them to learn dark magic. I earned the ability to wield dark magic through my determination and willpower. People unfamiliar with magic look at dark magic like it’s inherently evil. Lugh wants to build a school for magic when we go back home, and I want to help him. I want to help prospective mages understand that they don’t need to give themselves up to learn dark magic, and I want to bring the knowledge of dark magic back to the world. Outside of that… perhaps we can rebuild the orphanage together.”

“...You have a noble heart, Raigh. Just as everyone else knows, you’re a good person deep inside, and I’m glad to have made your acquaintance.”

Raigh lets out a small chuckle. “Oh, be quiet.” Raigh stands up from his desk. “You know, I was thinking, perhaps after your travels, you could return to Valentia and reopen that school you mentioned.”

“Huh, good idea. I hadn’t planned on returning, but maybe I owe it to Ram. Gray and Tobin might open up a combat school, perhaps I should play my part. And speaking of travels, I heard rumors of some ruins Alfonse came across during a recent battle. Merric would have to lead our exploration, but we could discover something for ourselves for once, rather than reading about it in a book later.”

“Heh… maybe you do understand.”


End file.
